It's Too Dark!
by Lady Jill Pole
Summary: A "Little Pevensies" fic about Peter's childhood fear...the dark. Inspired by a request from Princess Lucy. Features sibling fluff!
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, once _Big Brother_ was finished, I needed another story about the "Little Pevensies" to replace it. I wasn't very sure what I would write, but then Princess Lucy made a request of me. This story is what came of it. I didn't actually do much with the request in this first chapter, but there is a bit of sibling fluff that I couldn't resist putting in! Enjoy!**

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"Mum!" Peter yelled from his room. "Where's my new book from Grandfather?"

"I saw Susan and Lucy looking at it earlier, dear," Annaleigh called back.

There was a pitter-patter of bare feet on the hardwood floor as Peter ran down the hall. He paused at the kitchen door, peering in at Annaleigh as she chopped carrots in preparation for the evening meal.

"Where are they?" he asked his mother.

"Try the sunroom, darling. Peter," she continued, causing her eldest son to stop mid-step as he prepared to run back down the hallway. "Are you all packed?"

The young boy bounced in place as he answered. "Almost, Mum. I need the book, though. I want to show it to Bernie."

"Alright, dear. Run and get it. Just be nice to your sisters as you do so," she said with a pointed look.

"I will, Mum."

Annaleigh smiled as Peter barreled back down the hall at full speed, making a beeline for the sunroom. Her high energy seven-and-a-half-year-old was more antsy than was usually the case at this time of day, due to the fact that the fast-approaching night would bring the grand occasion of his first sleepover. Peter had, in the past year, become good friends with a neighbor boy (the afore-mentioned "Bernie") and the child's mother, a kind, jolly sort of woman named Lucinda Chesterton, had recently expressed to Annaleigh her son's desire to have Peter spend the night. After speaking with George and carefully considering the matter with him, Annaleigh spoke with Bernie's mother and the two arranged a date for Peter to stay at the Chesterton house overnight.

As she was pondering all of this, Annaleigh found her thoughts suddenly interrupted by a loud squeal coming from the direction of the sunroom, followed by various grunts, yells, and thumps. She hastily dropped her chopping knife on the kitchen counter and rushed down the hall.

"Peter," she said as she neared the sunroom door. "I thought I told you to be nice to your sisters!"

But when she entered the room, she saw that it was not Susan or Lucy that was now pinned under Peter and screaming. With angry tears running down his red cheeks, Edmund flailed his arms and legs, trying to escape from the weight of his older brother, but to no avail. Peter ignored him as he carefully examined every page of the large, beautiful book that he now held in his hands.

"Peter!" Annaleigh gasped as she rushed into the room and pulled him from where he sat on Edmund. "What are you doing?"

Peter, his own face red from anger, glared at Edmund as Annaleigh tugged the three-year-old off the floor. "He was about to color in my book!" Peter grabbed a blue crayon off the floor and jabbed it in the direction of his brother. "He already scribbled all over the cover! See?" He held the book up to Annaleigh.

She took the book in her hands and saw that, indeed, the cover had been colored all over in crayon. An indecipherable mosaic of mixed colors now decorated the front and back of Peter's new book. It was a shame, really; the book had been a very nice gift from Grandfather Pevensie to Peter two weeks ago, when the aging man had noticed his grandson's emerging interest in medieval weapons, royalty, and knights. Peter had been thrilled with the gift and had kept it in excellent condition; until, of course, now, when Edmund got his hands on the book and a set of crayons at the same time.

Peter hadn't been the only one thrilled with his gift. When he had shown the beautiful, full-color pictures in the book to his younger siblings, Susan and Lucy had been instantly enthralled by the lovely ladies and princesses (and yes, queens) that many of the pages portrayed. As a result, they had several times carried the book off to gaze at the pictures without permission (this was why Annaleigh had warned Peter to be nice to them earlier). Edmund had also shown interest in the volume, but only because his siblings did.

"Edmund," Annaleigh said, turning to her youngest son. "Why did you color on your brother's book?"

The little boy's eyes refused to meet his mother's as he answered. "I didn't have any paper," he mumbled.

"Why didn't you ask Mummy for some?"

"'Cause I didn't wanna," came the reply.

Annaleigh sighed. "Edmund, you know better than to color on books. That book is Peter's, and you had no right to even touch it without his permission."

Edmund finally looked at Annaleigh. "But Susy and Lucy were looking at it," he said, trying to draw his mother's attention away from himself.

"Susan and Lucy have nothing to do with you coloring on the book," answered Annaleigh, not to be fooled.

"Besides, I told Susan this morning that she can look at it whenever she wants, as long as she puts it back in my room when she's done with it," Peter said.

Edmund looked from Annaleigh to Peter, and then to the ruined book before he decided he was fighting a losing battle. "I'm sorry, Peter," he said, moving over to his brother and hugging him. He did this cautiously, for Peter's face still had an angry look to it.

Peter's anger, however, left him in a rush when he saw Edmund look up at him with a sincere apology in his eyes. Grudgingly, he returned the hug and said with a smirk, "I suppose I must forgive you when you look at me like that."

Edmund grinned back, dimples appearing in his chubby cheeks.

Annaleigh wasn't finished disciplining her youngest son, however. "Just because you apologized doesn't mean you're off the hook, young man." She took Edmund by the hand and began leading him from the room. "You're going to sit on a chair in the kitchen until your father gets home."

"Mum," Peter called as the two left the room. "Do you think there's any way to fix it?"

Annaleigh turned and looked to where Peter stood, holding his book dejectedly. "I'm sure there is, dear," she said hopefully. "Perhaps when your grandfather visits again he'll know what to do."

"Alright," Peter answered. Then, content for the moment, he hurried off to his room to cloister the book safely in his overnight bag while Annaleigh returned to the kitchen, towing Edmund reluctantly behind.

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That evening, after a delicious meal, Peter stood by the door ready to leave as Annaleigh finished cleaning up the kitchen. Susan wandered out of the kitchen munching on a cookie, and seeing Peter, walked down the hallway to him. Lucy followed closely behind, her own chubby hand tightly clutching a half-eaten cookie.

"What are you doing, Peter?" Susan asked between bites.

"What're 'oo doing, Petey?" Lucy mimicked her big sister.

"I'm getting ready to go to Bernie's," he answered them.

Susan scrunched her nose. "Why? It's almost dark out."

"I'm sleeping over there tonight." Peter stated proudly. "Mum's walking me over as soon as she's done in the kitchen."

"Oh," was Susan's reply. "Are you coming back tomorrow?"

"Yes,"

"Good. I want to-"

Susan was cut off abruptly by Lucy loudly proclaiming, "I'm goin' wit 'oo, Petey!"

Peter smiled at his two-year-old sister. "No, you can't come with me this time, Lucy."

"But I wanna go wit 'oo!" Lucy cried. "Pwease, Petey?"

"I'm sorry, Lucy, this is for boys only."

"I wanna hab a sweepover wit 'oo!"

"Lucy," Susan cut in. "Peter will be back tomorrow. Maybe Mum will let you sleep in his room sometime if you're good."

Peter looked at Susan gratefully and wrapped Lucy in a hug. As she returned it, he said, "Don't worry, Lu. You'll have your own sleepover someday."

Lucy patted Peter's face with her crumb-covered hand as they ended their hug. "I wuve 'oo, Petey."

Peter grinned at Lucy's sweet face. "I love you too, Lu."

Annaleigh came into the hall just in time to witness Peter hug Susan goodbye and goodnight. "Are you ready to go, darling?"

"Yes, Mum," Peter answered, picking up his bag.

"You nearly forgot your pillow." Annaleigh waved the sleeping cushion briefly at her son before tucking it under her arm. "I'll carry it for you."

"Goodbye, son!" called George, sticking his head around the kitchen door. "Behave yourself like a gentleman while you're gone."

"Yes, Dad."

After final goodbyes and goodnights, Peter and Annaleigh were finally out the door and down the sidewalk to the neighbors'. Peter could barely keep from running in his growing excitement.

As they mounted the steps to the Chestertons' house, Annaleigh gave Peter last-minute instructions. "Make sure you help Mrs. Chesterton if she needs it, and obey her and Mr. Chesterton. Don't eat too many sweets, and don't forget to brush your teeth."

"Yes, Mum," said Peter dutifully.

"And remember," Annaleigh added, her hand on the doorknocker. "Your father and I are right next door if you need us. We love you, dear." She put an arm around Peter and pressed a kiss to his golden head.

"I love you too, Mum," Peter said as Annaleigh raised the doorknocker and let it drop.

The doorknob soon turned, and Lucinda's smiling face appeared. "Come in, come in. Bernie, Peter's here!"

Peter only paused for a second on the threshold, glancing back behind him toward the darkening street as night fell. He shivered, then turned his back and followed Annaleigh indoors to Lucinda Chesterton's warmly lit living room, eager to see Bernie. The sleepover had finally arrived!

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**So...what'd ya think? Review, please! The more reviews I receive, the more motivated I feel to continue a story in a timely manner! :) (Oh, and I hope you guys were able to understand "Little Lucy" speech...I'm pretty sure it's clear enough, but if you need a translation, let me know!)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Though there's nothing in this chapter about dogs, I'm dedicating it to one. My cousins' (KireKhane Faerring and Queen Su) dog, Texas Shadow, was one of the sweetest, cutest, most lovable and mischievous little canines around and we're all going to miss him very much.**

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**Now, since I have nothing else to say for once...on with the story!**

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As Lucinda welcomed Annaleigh and Peter inside, a thump came from above their heads. Then, the sound of pounding feet came from the stairs, and seconds later, a boy Peter's age skidded around the corner. He had light brown hair and green eyes with a mischievous twinkle in them. Freckles abounded on his round face.

"Hi, Peter!" he said excitedly, a huge dimpled grin on his face.

Peter returned the greeting with his own wide smile, and then Lucinda said, "Bernie, why don't you help Peter take his things up to your room while Mrs. Pevensie and I have a chat."

"Oh," Annaleigh said as she handed Peter's pillow to Bernie. "I can't stay. Tonight's Edmund and Lucy's bath night, and George will need help with Edmund."

"Just for a moment," insisted Lucinda. "I have a new dress pattern that I'd like to show you."

As their mothers moved farther into the living room to examine the pattern, Bernie said "C'mon!" and led Peter around the corner and up the stairs. The two boys rushed through the second door on the left and deposited Peter's bag and pillow in a corner. Then Peter gasped.

"What's that?" he exclaimed, pointing at a large glass terrarium on the window seat. It was filled with green plants, little pebbles, a large rock, and a wide, shallow dish of water.

"Here, I'll show you," said Bernie. The boys moved over to the box and Bernie lifted the screened lid off. Peter watched as his friend squinted inside and then stuck his arm in.

"There!" Bernie said after a moment of fishing around in the box, then triumphantly pulled his hand back out and showed the thing that he held to Peter.

"It's a frog!" Peter said with a grin. The creature that Bernie held certainly couldn't be mistaken for anything else. It was about the size of Peter's fist, light green, slimy, and had large, bulging eyes. The two boys giggled as the frog let out a loud croak.

"I have two of them: a boy and a girl. Dad brought them home yesterday," Bernie proclaimed proudly. "I haven't named them yet. Wanna help?"

Peter enthusiastically agreed and Bernie handed him the frog to hold while he fished out the other one. After admiring the frogs for several minutes, the boys decided to name the male frog "Sir Barton" and the female "Lady Marie".

"I haven't fed them yet today, either," commented Bernie. "It's so much fun to watch them eat!"

"Can we feed them now?" asked Peter.

"Yep," came the answer, and then Bernie was rummaging through a drawer that pulled out of the window seat. "Oh, I forgot. I left the box downstairs earlier. C'mon!"

The boys rushed out of the room and stampeded down the stairs. Bernie headed straight to the kitchen, but Peter lingered at the bottom of the stairs and peeked around the corner toward the entryway. Annaleigh, preparing to return home, caught sight of her son and motioned him to her. When he came near, she drew him into her arms for one last embrace.

"Remember what I told you," she whispered into his ear.

"Yes, Mum," he whispered back.

"Don't be afraid to tell Mrs. Chesterton if you need to come home."

"I'll be fine."

"All right, dear," she pulled away and opened the front door. "Goodnight, Peter. Goodbye, Lucinda!"

"Goodbye, Annaleigh!" Said Mrs. Chesterton cheerfully, but Peter just waved. Noting the apprehensive expression on his face, the kind woman put her arm around him and led him back toward the kitchen, saying, "Come along, I'm sure Bernie is wondering where you are. You two are going to have so much fun tonight!"

Sure enough, when they got back to the kitchen, Bernie said to Peter, "Where have you been?" Then, not giving his friend a chance to answer, he continued excitedly. "C'mon, I found the crickets!"

As the boys dashed back upstairs, Mrs. Chesterton called after them. "Make sure that all of those crickets end up in the terrarium, you two!"

Once back in Bernie's room, they carefully put several crickets into the frogs' habitat, and then delightedly watched each insect disappear into the amphibians' mouths. However, soon the frogs had consumed all of the crickets, and the boys grew restless from just staring at them. Then, Bernie had the bright idea of taking the frogs out of the terrarium again. Soon, the boys were busy making a castle out of wooden blocks for the frogs to inhabit. They worked at it for nearly an hour, for it seemed that there were infinite ways for the frogs to escape their new abode. But once they had successfully finished the block castle, the boys grew bored once again, and Peter remembered his new book.

"Here, Bernie, look," he said, pulling the book out of his bag.

Bernie sat next to Peter on the floor and stared at the cover. "Why is the cover so..."

"Colorful? Edmund drew on it."

"I'm so glad I don't have a little brother to scribble on _my_ books,"

Peter shrugged. "I was mad at first, but I forgave him. Mum said Grandfather could probably find a way to fix it. He's the one who gave it to me." He opened the book and began showing his friend the beautiful pictures.

When they were several pages into the book, Bernie pointed to a picture and exclaimed, "Look! It's a joust! And a real one; not like the one we had,"

Several weeks before, Peter had gotten the grand idea of the two having a joust in his backyard. So they had gathered their mothers' mops for lances, a couple of pots for helmets, and Susan and Lucy to watch. Then, they had run full-speed at each other, tightly clutching the leveled "lances". Seconds later, they were both lying flat on their backs in the grass and Susan was running into the Pevensie home yelling for her mum. When Annaleigh had come outside, she found Peter with a split lip and his front teeth loose and Bernie with a black eye. The two boys bravely didn't cry as she cleaned them up, though understandably they had gotten a few tears in their eyes. And that night, they could be heard proudly telling their fathers how they had gained their injuries.

"I'm hungry," Bernie announced after they had perused the book for a while longer. Not surprisingly, this comment came after the boys had looked at a page of the book that contained a picture of a feast.

Peter's stomach rumbled at that moment in agreement to Bernie's statement, so they put the book away and prepared to go downstairs to ask for a snack. But as they were on the way out of Bernie's bedroom door, Peter said, "Wait, shouldn't we put the frogs away?"

The two rushed to the block castle and peered inside. "There's Lady Marie," said Bernie, scooping up the amphibian and plopping her back into the terrarium on the window seat. "Do you see Sir Barton?"

Peter scanned the castle carefully. "Nope," Then, he squinted at its far corner and pointed. "Bernie, is that…a hole in the back?"

Bernie reached his hand in and froze. Then, he looked at Peter, wide-eyed. "It is," he whispered, and the two boys stared at each other in horror.

"Is it…is it big enough for Sir Barton to escape?" Peter asked hesitantly.

"I think so," came the tiny reply.

They stared at each other and the hole in the castle wall for a few more seconds before they exploded into activity. Bernie lunged for his bed and dove underneath it, wildly tossing various toys and articles of clothing out from under it while Peter looked under the desk in the corner. A minute later, Peter completed his search under the desk and checked under and around his pillow and bag. No sooner had he finished this than Bernie scrambled out from under the bed and jumped on top of it, tossing pillows and stuffed animals every which way.

"Peter," he said breathlessly as he yanked the rumpled covers back and searched through the sheets. "Could you look in the closet?"

After looking over the room with his eyes and locating the partially open closet door, Peter jumped up and threw the door fully open. His enthusiasm for the search ended there, however, when his blue eyes met the sight before them.

"Um, Bernie, do we have to look in the closet?"

"Yes. Frogs like dark places," the boy informed as he scanned the bookshelf for anything that might move.

Peter stared at the large, cluttered, yawning, black space that was Bernie's closet. "Do you…do you think that maybe _you_ could look in the closet?" he asked weakly.

Having searched every other inch of his room, Bernie came over next to Peter and gave him a nudge. "C'mon, move. Let's both look."

Unable to escape due to the fact that Bernie was pressed close behind him, Peter had no choice but to move into the closet. It was even darker inside than it had looked from the bedroom, and he found himself holding his breath and groping for the wall.

"Hmm, looks like we'll need a light." Bernie pronounced, unable to even see the floor in front of him. "Stay here, I'll be right back."

"But-"

Bernie rushed out of the closet. Peter turned around to go back into Bernie's bedroom and wait for him to return, but as he stepped toward the light, the closet door swung closed. Bernie had inadvertently bumped it on his way out, and Peter found himself trapped. Groping around in the dark, Peter began breathing heavily as he searched for the door. When he finally found it, he nearly hyperventilated when he discovered that there wasn't a doorknob on his side. He began pounding frantically on the door and yelling for Bernie, Mrs. Chesterton, anyone, to let him out. What seemed like an eternity passed, and no one came. Peter slumped to the floor, tears running down his cheeks. The darkness seemed to become thicker, closing in around him, and he tightly hugged his knees to his chest and buried his head in them. Somehow, the darkness didn't seem quite as black when he couldn't see it.

Suddenly, Peter lifted his head as his eyes flew open. He strained his ears, trying to locate the sound that had penetrated his fear. There…there it was again! A tiny thump came from farther in the closet, followed by rustling noises. It seemed to move closer, and Peter felt his panic level rising again. Then for a moment, the noise stopped, and Peter held his breath, not wanting to breathe for fear that the _thing_, whatever it was, would hear him and move closer. Then, the thing thumped again, closer than ever. Peter whimpered and pressed his back closer to the door.

"_Help me_," he whispered. Then, as the thing rustled close to him once again, he jumped up and began pounding on the door and screaming again.

"What in the world?" Light flooded the closet as the door suddenly opened to reveal Mrs. Chesterton. "Oh, Peter, dear, what happened?"

He didn't reply, just buried his face in her dress as she pulled him close in a comforting embrace.

"Oh, there, there. You're safe now." She patted his back gently and stroked his hair until his breathing calmed and his tears slowed. "Do you want me to call your mum?" Mrs. Chesterton inquired when he pulled away and began wiping the tears from his face.

Peter seemed to hesitate for a moment, then in a voice much stronger than expected, he said, "No."

"Are you quite certain, dear?"

He nodded firmly, then looked bashfully at the ground, embarrassed.

"And you!" Mrs. Chesterton spun around suddenly and pointed a finger at Bernie, who had been watching the scene wide-eyed. "What on earth were you thinking, leaving Peter all alone? And locked in the closet of all things! Why, that's no way for my son to behave!"

"I didn't know he was locked in the closet," Bernie said weakly. "I'm sorry, Peter."

"That's all right," Peter said. "I know you didn't mean to."

"Well," said Mrs. Chesterton, not to let her son off quite as easily. "I'd like to know what you were doing downstairs alone in the first place, young man."

Bernie held up a candle and some matches. "I was getting these."

His mother narrowed her eyes. "Why?"

"The closet light is out, and we couldn't see."

"What did you need to get out of the closet?"

Bernie looked at Peter nervously. "Nothing,"

"Then _why_ did you need a light?"

"We were looking for something." Bernie's eyes shifted around the room, looking anywhere but at his mother.

She lifted an eyebrow. "Care to tell me exactly _what_ that something was?"

Bernie and Peter looked at each other, knowing that they were caught red-handed. "Um," Bernie said. "Can I tell you later?"

Mrs. Chesterton crossed her arms and tapped her foot. "I would prefer to know now, Bernard," she said sternly.

"Fine." He shifted his feet, then cleared his throat and looked directly at his mother. "We were looking for Sir Barton."

A strange expression came over Lucinda Chesterton's face. "Who," she said slowly, "is 'Sir Barton'?"

Peter piped up. "Bernie's frog. The big one. We named him Sir Barton."

"_Sir Barton_?" she repeated.

"Yes, and he escaped from the castle."

"We looked everywhere in my room, Mum, but we couldn't find him. I think he's in the closet."

The two boys thought Mrs. Chesterton looked rather like a fish as she stood there for a moment, her eyes wide and her mouth opening and closing without a sound. Then, she turned around and made a quick retreat from the room. She paused at the top of the stairs, and the boys heard her call back, "If that frog is not found within the space of ten minutes, Bernard Lloyd Chesterton, I will have your father remove the two creatures from your custody and from this house!"

Peter and Bernie stared at each other for a moment, then burst into giggles. Then, Peter pointed towards the closet.

"Look!"

Bernie turned, and there, sitting calmly outside the closet door, was the missing frog. Bernie scrambled over and scooped him up. Sir Barton let out a disgruntled croak as the boy carried him across the room and deposited him back in the terrarium.

"There, all done. C'mon, Peter, let's see if Mum has a snack for us."

Bernie rushed out of the room immediately, but Peter stopped near the closet door. With satisfaction, he shut it firmly, sealing the dark away and feeling as though he'd won a victory. But that didn't stop him from feeling a knot deep down in his stomach as he glanced out of Bernie's bedroom window at the dark, moonless night that had fallen.

"Peter!"

Bernie's voice broke Peter away from his nervous thoughts. He turned from the window and ran from the room, ready to forget his fears…for the time being.

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**Let me know what you think! Any questions, comments, and/or suggestions will be greatly appreciated! :)**


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